Mr David Boseto, co-founder and co-director of Ecological Solutions Solomon Islands (ESSI), was one of 15 Biodiversity “Hotspot Heroes” to be honoured on September 4th 2016 at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The conservationists were selected by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) as part of the fund’s 15 year anniversary celebrations. The 15 Hotspot Heroes received their awards during a reception at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, for their outstanding contribution to the conservation of biodiversity hotspots. Mr Boseto was selected as the East Melanesian Islands Biodiversity Hotspot Hero from among the fund’s more than 2,000 grantee organisations around the globe.

Mr. Boseto co-founded ESSI with Dr Patrick Pikacha in 2012, and the two men continue to lead the organization. With support from CEPF, Mr. Boseto and ESSI have set the foundation for a long-term, community-owned conservation initiative on Choiseul Island in Solomon Islands. Here they are working with local communities to map customary ownership of land and natural resources and develop land-use plans that reflect cultural and biological values.

Mr. Boseto and ESSI have also played a leading role in other CEPF-supported initiatives in the Solomon Islands, including promoting ridges-to-reef conservation in Western Province and undertaking baseline biological surveys of the highlands of Guadalcanal as a basis for community-based conservation initiatives.

We were delighted to highlight Mr David Boseto from Ecological Solutions Solomon Islands as East Melanesia’s Hotspot Hero. Congratulations again to David!